University  of  Illinois 

Library  at 

Urbana-Champaign 
ACES 


UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 


Agricultural  Experiment  Station 


BULLETIN  No.   121 


VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT 


BY  ALBERT  N.  HUME,  O.  D.  CENTER, 
AND  LEONARD  HEGNAUER 


URBANA,  ILLINOIS,  JANUARY,  1908 


SUMMARY  OF  BULLETIN  No.  121 

The  present  data  indicate  that  Turkey  Red  wheat  is  the  highest 
yielding  variety  for  Central  and  Northern  Illinois.  Page  76 

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  has  made  the  largest  average  yield  next 
to  Turkey  Red.  Page  73 

Fulcaster  and  Harvest  King  are  the  best  yielding  wheats  among 
those  tested  for  Southern  Illinois.  Page  78 

Frequent  changes  of  seed  wheat  are  not  advisable;  new  varie- 
ties should  be  introduced  only  after  thorough  trial;  home  grown 
seed  is  likely  to  be  most  profitable  for  practical  wheat  growers. 

Page  8 1 

Turkey  Red  and  other  Russian  wheats  described  and  illus- 
trated. Page  84 

Hungarian  wheats.  Page  88 

Some  American  wheats  described  and  illustrated.  Page  88 


VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT 

BY  AL,BERT  N.  HUME,  ASSOCIATE  IN  CROP  PRODUCTION,  O.  D.  CENTER, 

FIRST  ASSISTANT  IN  CROP  PRODUCTION,  AND  LEONARD 

HEGNAUER,  ASSISTANT  IN  FARM  CROPS' 

Some  varieties  of  wheat  are  more  productive  than  others.  We 
are  so  accustomed  to  accept  the  statement  that  there  is  no  "best  va- 
riety" of  wheat  for  the  country  at  large  that  we  may  make  the  mis- 
take of  thinking1  the  selection  of  the  variety  best  adapted  to  a  given 
locality  is  a  matter  of  very  secondary  importance ;  but  there  is  good 
evidence  in  this  bulletin  to  show  that  wheat  growers  over  the  larger 
area  of  Illinois  who  select  the  best  yielding  variety  may  average 
several  bushels  an  acre  more  wheat  than  those  who  select  the  sec- 
ond best. 

No  one  can  know  by  general  observation  in  the  field  which  the 
highest  yielding  varieties  of  wheat  may  be,  because  a  difference  of 
three  to  six  bushels  per  acre  is  not  in  this  way  easily  determined. 
The  only  way  to  ascertain  the  smaller  differences  in  yield  is  by 
means  of  carefully  conducted  tests  in  the  field.  It  is  the  purpose  of 
this  bulletin  to  give  data  which  will  assist  wheat  growers  of  Illinois 
to  select  the  highest  yielding  varieties  for  their  own  localities.  For 
central  and  northern  Illinois  comparative  tests  were  made  on  the 
University  experiment  farm  near  Urbana,  in  Champaign  County, 
and  on  the  University  crop  experiment  field  located  near  DeKalb, 
in  DeKalb  County.  For  southern  Illinois  results  are  reported  from 
tests  made  on  the  University  crop  experiment  field  near  Fairfield, 
in  Wayne  County,  and  on  the  farm  of  Mr.  W.  E.  Braden,  near  Cut- 
ler, in  Perry  County. 

PLAN  OP  EXPERIMENT 

On  the  University  crop  experiment  fields,  at  Urbana,  DeKalb, 
and  Fairfield,  the  plan  of  these  experiments  has  been  essentially 
the  same.  On  all  three  of  the  fields  the  variety  wheats  come  into  a 
rotation  and  therefore  do  not  come  two  years  in  succession  upon 
the  same  ground.  All  plots  on  these  fields  are  two  rods  wide  and 
sixteen  rods  long,  thus  containing  one-fifth  acre  each. 

In  each  "division"  of  the  field  are  eighteen  of  these  fifth-acre 
plots,  the  two  middle  ones,  numbers  9  and  10,  being  "Standard  Soil 

71 


72  BULLETIN  No.  121.  [January, 

Plots"  and  not  entering  into  consideration  in  tests  of  varieties.  The 
following  plan,  showing  the  names  of  the  varieties,  and  plan  of  the 
plots  at  the  Urbana  field  for  1905,  may  illustrate  the  general  plan 
of  all  tests  on  these  fields. 


PLAN  OF  VARIETY  WHEAT  TESTS 

Urbana  Field,  Year  1905 
Series  200  Plot  Nos.  261-278 

Pesterboden 1 

Red  Hussar 2 

Indiana  Swamp 3  standard 

K.  B.  No.  2 4 

Padi 5 

Indiana  Swamp 6  standard 

Beloglina 7 

Kharkov 8 

Indiana  Swamp 9  (soil  plot) 

Indiana  Swamp 10  (soil  plot) 

Rudy 11 

Hungarian '. 12 

Indiana  Swamp 13  standard 

Wheedling 14 

Malakoff 15 

Indiana  Swamp 16  standard 

Turkey  Red 17 

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff 18 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  the  above  plan  plots  numbered  3,  6,  13, 
and  1 6  are  all  planted  with  exactly  the  same  kind  of  wheat.  These 
are  called  standard,  or  check,  plots  and  their  purpose  is  to  indicate 
differences  of  soil  fertility  that  are  sure  to  exist.  A  method  has 
been  suggested  that  may  eliminate  to  some  extent  effects  of  soil 
difference  from  variety  tests  for  any  given  year;  namely,  first  to 
assume  that  differences  in  soil  fertility  occur  gradually  from  plot 
to  plot  and  that  the  yields  of  the  several  variety  plots  shall  be  in- 
creased or  decreased,  in  proportion  as  the  yield  of  the  nearest 
standard  plots  is  lower  or  higher  than  the  average  of  all  the  stand- 
ards. In  the  present  bulletin  it  will  appear  that  such  calculation 
has  no  great  effect  upon  general  conclusions. 


VARIETY  YIELDS  FROM  URBANA  FIELD 

Table  I  shows  the  actual  yields  in  bushels  (60  pounds)  per  acre 
for  the  years  1904-1907,  inclusive,  at  Urbana.  In  case  there  was 
more  than  one  plot  of  any  variety,  the  average  yield  is  given. 


1908.] 


VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT. 


73 


With  a  view  to  discover  whether  conclusions  drawn  from 
Table  I  would  be  greatly  changed  by  adding  or  substracting  the 
increase  or  decrease  for  the  several  plots,  which  would  theoretically 
neutralize  differences  of  soil  fertility,  we  have  constructed  Table  2. 


TABLE  1. — YIELDS  OF  VARIETY  WHEAT,  EXPERIMENT  FARM,  URBANA 


Name  of  variety. 

Actual  yield  per  acre,  (bushels). 

1904. 

1905. 

1906. 

1907. 

Kour- 
year 

average. 

Turkey  Red  

32.1 
31.4 
18.9 
16.8 
12.7 
12.8 
15.2 
7.8 
11.9 
10.4 
13.8 

30.0 

27.7 
29.0 
25.1 
27.9 

28.7 
25.5 

26.6 
24.3 
24.0 
30.8 
22.3 

46.6 
46.4 
36.0 
36.4 
38.2 
37.0 
40.2 

40.7 
37.0 
40.5 
41.1 
39.1 
35.2 

45.5 
45.5 
42.4 
47.5 
43.9 
41.6 
38.5 

44.2 
41.1 
40.2 
43.8 
43.6 
32.5 

38.5 
37.7 
31.6 
31.4 
30.7 
30.0 
29.8 

Malakoff  

Hungarian  

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  

Rudy  

Indiana  Swamp  

Poole  

European  

Jones  Ivongberry  

Satisfaction  

Red  Hussar  

Beloglina  

K.  B.  No.  2  

Pesterboden  

Xharkov  

Padi  

TABLE  2. — COMPUTED  YIELDS  OF  WHEAT  VARIETIES,  GROWN  AT  URBANA. 
CALCULATED  BY  INCREASING  OR  DECREASING  THE  ACTUAL  YIELDS  IN 
PROPORTION  AS  THE  YIELDS  OF  THE  NEAREST  STANDARD  PLOTS  WERE 
L,ESS  OR  GREATER  THAN  THE  AVERAGE  OF  ALL  STANDARD  PLOTS  FOR 
THE  YEAR 


1904. 

1905. 

1906. 

1907. 

Aver- 
age. 

Turkey  Red  

34.1 

30.0 

44.7 

45  6 

38  6 

Malakoff  

28.1 

28.0 

46  6 

45  5 

37  1 

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  

17.4 

26.7 

34.5 

47  9 

31  6 

Hungarian  

20.0 

26.9 

37.0 

42  2 

31  5 

Rudy  

13.5 

27.6 

41.2 

43  8 

31  5 

Wheedling  

12  6 

26.4 

42  .4 

38  3 

29  9 

Indiana  Swamp  

10.5 

27.6 

36  9 

42.8 

29  5 

Poole  

8.3 

European  

13.4 

Jones  IvOiigberry  

11.2 

27.8 

Satisfaction  

13.0 

22.2 

Red  Hussar  

25.2 

37.8 

44  9 

Beloglina  .        .        

30  1 

38  0 

40  5 

K.  B.  No.  2  

22.3 

38.6 

40  3 

Pesterboden  

38.1 

44  4 

Kharkov  

42.1 

43  1 

Padi  

34.4 

33  5 

Computed  yield  per  acre,  (bushels). 


74  BULLETIN  No.  121.  [January, 

It  will  require  further  time  to  determine  whether  the  method 
employed  in  the  calculation  of  Table  2  from  actual  yields  given  in 
Table  I  is  of  great  utility.  The  writers  realize  that  in  order  to  get 
the  most  accurate  averages,  many  tests  should  be  employed  so  that 
differences  of  soil  and  climate  equalize  themselves.  In  the  present 
case,  however,  it  appears  by  consulting  Tables  i  and  2  together  that 
Turkey  Red,  Malakoff,  and  Dawson's  Golden  Chaff,  are,  in  order 
named,  the  highest  yielding  varieties  by  either  table.  Moreover, 
with  the  lower  yielding  varieties  the  computation  used  in  Table  2 
does  not  change  the  rank  of  any  variety  more  than  one  place.  Thus 
it  is  possible  to  arrange  in  the  following  tabular  form  the  seven 
varieties  that  have  been  tested  throughout  the  four  years  at  Ur- 
bana ;  this  arrangement  is  compiled  from  both  tables : 


Name  of  variety. 

Rank  of  -varieties 
tested  four  years  at 
Urban  a,  according  to 
yield  per  acre. 

Turkey  Red  

1 

2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
7 

Malakoff.  

Hungarian  or  Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  or  Hungarian  

Rudy         

Indiana  Swamp  or  Wheedling  

Turkey  Red  and  Malakoff,  which  are  botanically  the  same, 
have  yielded  7.9  and  6.1  bushels  (actual  yield)  more  wheat  per^acre 
as  an  average  of  four  years  than  any  other  variety  tested  at  Ur- 
bana,  and  by  the  computed  yields  these  results  differ  by  only  a  frac- 
tion of  a  bushel. 

YIELDS  OF  WHEAT  FROM  FOUR  SOIL  EXPERIMENT  FIELDS 

In  connection  with  soil  fertility  tests  on  experiment  fields  at 
Galesburg,  Virginia,  Bloomington,  and  Sibley,  it  has  been  possible 
to  secure,  incidentally,  yields  of  four  different  varieties  of  wheatr 
from  separate  localities,  for  the  same  year.  These  cannot  be  con- 
sidered as  comparable,  but  they  indicate  what  these  varieties  may 
do  under  the  conditions,  and  are  of  interest  when  read  in  connec- 
tion with  yields  from  the  Urbana  field. 

At  the  Galesburg  experiment  field  in  Knox  County,  in  the  Up- 
per Illinois  Glaciation,  on  ordinary  untreated  prairie  soil  the  variety 
Indiana  swamp  produced  39  bushels  per  acre  in  1905. 

The  yield  of  Turkey  Red  wheat  at  Sibley,  Ford  County,  in  the 
Early  Wisconsin  Glaciation,  in  1905,  was  29.5  bushels  per  acre  on 
untreated  land. 


1908.] 


VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT. 


75 


At  Bloomington,  McLean  County,  in  the  Early  Wisconsin  Glac- 
iation,  Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  wheat  was  used.  The  yield  in  1905 
on  untreated  land  was  30.8  bushels  per  acre. 

At  Virginia,  in  Cass  County,  which  is  in  the  Middle  Illinois 
Glaciation,  the  soil  plots  were  sown  with  Hungarian  wheat,  and  the 
yield  from  the  untreated  land  was  29.8  bushels  per  acre  in  1905. 

It  is  of  interest  to  mention  that  on  the  plots  fertilized  with  phos- 
phorus in  connection  with  nitrogen  (either  applied  directly  or  se- 
cured by  growing  legumes)  the  yields  of  wheat  in  1905  were  40.6 
bushels  per  acre  at  Galesburg,  45.2  bushels  at  Sibley,  50.9  bushels 
at  Bloomington,  and  36.0  bushels  at  Virginia.  (For  other  details 
and  methods  of  soil  improvement  see  Illinois  Experiment  Station 
Circulars  96,  100,  and  108.) 

The  following  makes  a  comparison  easy: 


Name  of  variety. 

Yield  at 
Urbana,lS05. 

Other  yields  in  1905. 

Locality. 

Land 
untreated  . 

Land 
fertilized. 

Indiana  Swamp  

28.7  bu. 
32.1  bu. 
26.2  bii. 
18.9  bu. 

Galesburg- 
Sibley 
Bloomington 
Virginia 

39.0  bu. 
29.5bu. 
30.8bu. 
29.8bu. 

40.6  bu. 
45.2  bu. 
50.9  bu. 
36.0  bu- 

Turkey  Red  

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff 
Hunerarian.  . 

TESTS  AT  DEKALB 

On  the  crop  experiment  field  established  near  DeKalb,  in  De- 
Kalb  County,  one  division  of  eighteen  fifth-acre  plots  was  devoted 
to  wheat  in  1907.  The  following  table  shows  in  one  column  the 
actual  yields  in  bushels  (60  pounds)  per  acre  for  each  variety,  and 
also  the  yield  increased  or  decreased  according  as  the  nearest  stand- 
ard plots  yielded  less  or  more  per  acre  than  the  average  of  the  four 
standards. 

3.— YIELDS  OF  VARIETY  WHEAT— DEKALB,  1907 


Number 
of 
plot. 

Name  of  variety. 

Actual  yield 
per  acre, 
(bushels). 

Computed  yield 
per  acre, 
(bushels). 

221 

Turkey  Red  

24  3 

25  9 

222 

Padi.             

18  6 

20  2 

223 

Indiana  Swamp  

18  6 

20  2 

224 

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  

17  6 

19  1 

225 

Red  Fife  

16.3 

17  7 

226 

Indiana  Swamp  

19  0 

20  "> 

227 

Minnesota  No.  163  

16.7 

17  6 

228 

Minn    Winter  Wheat  

25  6 

26  2 

231 

K.  B   No.  2  

21  8 

22  1 

232 

Malakoff  

22.1 

22  1 

233 

Indiana  Swamp  

20.7 

20  2 

234 

Kharkov  

29.5 

28  3 

235 

Minnesota  No.  169  

17.6 

15  7 

236 

Indiana  Swamp  

22.7 

20  2 

237 

Kubanka  No.  4  

12.3 

9  8 

238 

Wheedling  

17.8 

15.3 

76 


BULLETIN  No.  121. 


[January, 


In  connection  with  variety  tests  of  wheat  made  in  the  northern 
section  of  Illinois,  results  from  the  Iowa  Experiment  Station  have 
considerable  bearing  because  Iowa  is  very  comparable  to  this  sec- 
tion of  Illinois  so  far  as  soil  and  climate  are  concerned.  In  Iowa 
Experiment  Station  Bulletin  No.  51  a  one-year  test  of  fourteen  va- 
rieties of  winter  wheat  is  reported.  The  four  highest  yielding  varie- 
ties in  order  were  Turkey  Red,  Bearded  Eife,  Buda  Pesth  and  Bul- 
garian. 

Erom  summarizing  the  evidence  of  these  trials  of  wheat,  at  Ur- 
bana,  DeKalb,  and  at  the  Iowa  Experiment  Station,  the  conclusion 
is  justified  that  the  variety  of  wheat  ordinarily  knozvn  as  Turkey 
Red  is  the  most  promising.  In  all  these  trials  it  has  averaged  best 
or  among  the  best.  It  seems  there  are  several  strains  of  this  variety 
of  Russian  wheat,  all  of  which  are  doing  about  equally  well  in  this 
part  of  our  state.  Characteristics  of  varieties  are  discussed  some- 
what later  in  this  bulletin. 

TESTS  IN  SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS 

Variety  tests  of  wheat  have  been  conducted  at  two  different 
points  in  Southern  Illinois,  at  Cutler,  in  Perry  County,  and  at  Fair- 
field,  in  Wayne  County.  The  Cutler  field  is  located  on  the  farm  of 
Mr.  W.  E.  Braden  and  has  been  operated  in  connection  with  soil  ex- 
periments at  that  place.  The  tests  have  been  directly  supervised  by 
Mr.  J.  E.  Readhimer,  Superintendent  of  Soil  Experiment  Fields. 
The  tests  of  wheat  were  started  in  1902  and  have  been  continued 
since,  so  the  average  yields  are  valuable  data.  The  following  table 
summarizes  the  yields  at  Cutler: 

TABLE  4.— YIELDS  OF  VARIETY  WHEAT  AT  CUTLER,  1902-1907 
BUSHELS  PER  ACRE  (60  lb.) 


Name  of  variety. 

1902. 

1903. 

1904. 

Three 
year 
ave. 

1905 

1906. 

1907. 

Three 
year 
ave 

Six 
year 
ave. 

Fulcaster  (Home)  

16.4 

9.0 

15  0 

13.5 

12.8 

21.9 

23.7 

19  5 

16    5 

Harvest  King  (Home)  

16.3 

14  8 

15.6 

15.6 

11.5 

20.6 

17.7 

16.6 

16.1 

Red  Fultz  (Home)  

15  3 

7  7 

15.3 

12.8 

12.6 

21.9 

18.3 

17.6 

15.2 

Eclipse  (Home)  

16.8 

5  4 

13.7 

12.0 

10.7 

22.9 

20  2 

17.9 

14  9 

Harvest  King1  (Indiana)  

10.9 

10  5 

13.8 

11.7 

11.6 

22.5 

18.5 

17  5 

14  6 

Hybrid  Beechwood  

11.9 

P  0 

12.8 

11.2 

11  0 

22.7 

18.3 

17  3 

14  3 

11    6 

fi  4 

13  3 

10.4 

11.0 

19.2 

20.4 

16.9 

13.6 

Harvest  King  (Michigan).  .  .  . 
Poole    

14.3 
1?  1 

5.5 

5  ?, 

12.7 
13.6 

10.8 
10.3 

Jones  Longberry  (Home)  .... 
Dawson  (Nlichigan)  

16.0 
11.4 

4.3 
6  3 

10.3 
11.2 

10.2 
9.6 

Fultz  (Tennessee)  

10.2 

4  0 

11.8 

8.7 

Fultzo-Mediterranean  

T>  5 

1  7 

11.4 

8.5 

Indiana  Swamp         

11.0 

3.2 

11.3 

8.5 

Jones  Ivongberry  (Indiana).  .  . 
Turkey  Red  

6.0 

3  5 

8.8 
11.4 

6.1 

9.0 

13  8 

Beardless  Rural  New  Yorker. 
Knight  &  Bostvvick  No.  2  

9.3 

8.7 

18.2 
15.6 

18.0 
16.8 

15.2 
13.7 

VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT.  77 

By  referring  to  Table  4  it  will  be  noted  that  the  trials  were 
begun  in  1902,  and  that  after  three  years  those  varieties  mani- 
festly not  adapted  to  the  locality  were  discontinued  from  the  test. 
The  varieties  thus  dropped  were  Jones  Longberry,  Indiana  Swamp, 
Fultz  (from  Tennessee),  Fultzo-Mediterranean,  Poole,  and  Daw- 
son.  Some  of  these  are  among  the  oldest  and  highest  yielding  va- 
rieties of  wheat  grown  elsewhere.  More  recently  a  three-year  trial 
was  made  of  Turkey  Red.  Here  was  one  case  where  one  needed 
only  to  observe  the  plots  as  they  grew,  to  tell  that  this  Russian 
wheat,  the  best  yielder  farther  north,  was  out  of  its  element  in 
southern  Illinois. 

It  would  be  reasonable  to  assume  the  best  average  varieties  in 
yield  for  six  years  were,  in  order,  Fulcaster,  Harvest  King,  and 
Red  Fultz. 

In  the  next  to  the  last  column  are  averages  for  the  last  three 
years.  Apparently  the  actual  average  yield  of  the  varieties  was 
much  affected  by  differences  in  season,  for  in  the  case  of  every 
variety  for  which  we  have  both  of  the  three-year  averages  the  aver- 
age yield  for  the  last  three  years  has  exceeded  that  of  the  three 
years  previous.  This  emphasizes  the  necessity^  of  making  variety 
tests  under  comparable  conditions.  If,  for  instance,  one  variety  is 
tested  for  three  seasons,  and  another  variety  tested  three  different 
seasons,  the  difference  may  be  great,  and  the  results  not  comparable. 
If  results  of  the  last  three  years  were  taken  as  conclusive  we  would 
place  home-grown  Harvest  King  seventh  in  order  among  the  nine 
varieties  tested,  while  by  the  previous  three-year  average  shown  in 
column  four  this  variety  would  be  given  first  rank  among  fifteen 
kinds  of  wheat  tested  in  the  same  years. 

Aside  from  the  position  of  home-grown  Harvest  King,  no 
variety  would  be  greatly  changed  in  rank -by  using  either  one  of 
the  three-year  averages  or  the  six-year  average.  It  is  apparent 
that  the  averages  for  the  longer  term  are  the  more  trustworthy. 

These  yields  from  Cutler  illustrate  somewhat  forcibly  that 
"home-grown"  seed  wheat  may  be  as  good  or  better  than  seed 
brought  from  a  distance.  Thus  it  may  be  observed  that  Harvest 
King  seed  that  had  been  grown  at  Cutler  for  a  number  of  years 
and  used  continuously  since  1902  averaged  15.6  bushels  per  acre 
during  the  first  three  years,  while  seed  introduced  from  Indiana  in 
1902  averaged  11.7  bushels.  In  each  of  the  three  years,  1902-1904, 
home-grown  seed  outyielded  the  Indiana  seed.  In  the  later  years 
the  seed  which  came  from  Indiana  yielded  as  well  as  the  other,  in- 
dicating that  it  may  have  become  acclimated.  The  question  of 
source,  of  seed  will  be  discussed  further. 


78 


BULLETIN  No.  121. 


[January, 


TESTS  AT 

In  the  fall  of  1905  when  a  crop  experiment  field  had  been  es- 
tablished at  Fairfield,  in  Wayne  County,  variety  tests  of  wheat  were 
included  in  the  regular  rotation  there.  The  general  plan  was  to 
include  some  varieties  already  grown  successfully  in  the  locality, 
some  varieties  that  had  done  well  at  Cutler,  those  that  were  prom- 
ising in  tests  at  Urbana  and  good  varieties  that  might  be  secured 
from  other  sources.  The  following  table  gives  the  results  in  actual 
yields  of  the  trials  in  1906  and  1907. 

TAKLE   5. — YIELDS   OF   VARIETIES  OF  WHEAT,  RAISED   NEAR  FAIRFIELD, 
ILLINOIS— 1 906-1907 


Name  of  variety. 

Source  of  seed. 

Yield, 
per  acre 

bushels 
,  (60  Ib.) 

1906. 

1907. 

Harvest  King  

Cutler  . 

3  4 

16  8 

Rudy  

Urbana  

2.8 

16  5 

Fulcaster  

Cutler  

3.0 

16.3 

Wheedling"  

Urbana  ... 

6.8 

16.1 

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  

Urbana  

3.3 

13.2 

Smooth  Wheat  

Native.  .                . 

6  2 

13.0 

Indiana  Swamp  

Galesburg"  and  Urbana  . 

2.3 

12.3 

Urbana  

2.6 

11.4 

Turkey  Red  .„  

Urbana  

1.4 

11.0 

K.  B.  No.  2  

Urbana  

4.5 

10.2 

Malakoff  

Urbana.  .         .  . 

2.2 

8.4 

Theiss  

U.  S.  Dept   Agr.   (12004)  . 

1.1 

6.6 

These  yields  from  the  Fairfield  field  covering  only  two  years  are 
inconclusive  except  as  they  substantiate  results  secured  at  Cutler. 
The  wheat  crop  was  so  nearly  a  failure  in  1906  that  no  attempt  is 
made  to  average  the  yields  of  the  two  years.  It  has,  however,  been 
evident  to  all  who  looked  at  the  variety  wheat  plots  at  Fairfield  that 
Harvest  King  and  Fulcaster  are  comparatively  well  adapted  to  the 
locality,  as  the  yields  in  .the  above  table  and  at  Cutler  clearly  demon- 
strate. Another  thing  is  just  as  well  borne  out,  namely,  that  the 
Russian  wheats,  Turkey  Red  and  Malakoff,  and  the  Hungarian, 
Theiss,  are  unsuited  to  the  southern  Illinois  conditions,  however 
well  they  do  farther  north. 

It  will  be  noted  that  all  wheat  yields  reported  for  southern  Illi- 
nois are  small  as  compared  with  the  yields  obtained  in  the  central 
and  northern  part  of  the  state.  Attention  is  called  to  the  fact,  how- 
ever, that  with  good  soil  treatment  very  satisfactory  yields  of  wheat 
have  been  secured  on  the  soil  experiment  fields  in  southern  Illinois. 
Thus,  as  an  average  of  the  last  four  years  on  the  Odin  soil  experi- 
ment field,  in  Marion  county,  the  yield  of  wheat  has  been  iil/2 
bushels  an  acre  on  ordinary  untreated  prairie  soil,  but  where  green 
manures  have  been  used  the  average  yield  of  wheat  has  been  14 
bushels,  while  with  lime  and  green  manures  the  yield  has  averaged 


VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT.  79 

bushels,  and  with  lime  and  phosphorus  in  connection  with 
green  manures  the  average  yield  of  wheat  during  the  four  years 
has  been  27  bushels  an  acre. 

(For  more  detailed  information  relating  to  the  improvement  of 
southern  Illinois  soils,  see  Illinois  Experiment  Station  Bulletins  99 
and  115,  and  Circulars  108  and  no.) 


SOURCE  OF 

The  impression  seems  to  have  gained  very  general  credence  that 
wheat  "runs  out"  when  the  same  strain  is  kept  for  many  years  on 
the  same  farm.  No  doubt  much  of  the  reason  for  the  acceptance  of 
this  theory  can  be  found  in  the  experience  of  very  careless  farmers 
who  continue  year  after  year  to  sow  poorly  selected  and  poorly 
cleaned  wheat  and  on  poorly  prepared  land.  Such  farmers  fail 
to  use  the  fanning  mill,  so  with  each  succeeding  season  their  seed 
wheat  is  made  up  more  and  more  of  light,  immature  kernels,  and 
inert  matter.  As  the  years  go  by  their  land  loses  its  fertility,  and 
as  the  wheat  yield  grows  smaller  from  this  cause,  the  careless  far- 
mer assumes  that  something  constitutional  is  the  matter  with  his 
wheat  variety.  The  thinner  the  land  and  the  poorer  the  growth  of 
wheat,  the  greater  will  be  the  growth  of  weeds  ;  and  these  not  being 
removed  reduce  the  yield  still  more.  Finally  the  careless  wheat 
grower  may  be  induced  to  buy  some  clean,  plump,  vigorous  seed 
wheat,  and,  as  might  be  expected  under  such  circumstances,  the  yield 
is  noticeably  better,  particularly  when  as  is  often  the  case  the  new 
variety  is  put  in  choice  ground.  It  is  too  often  assumed  that  such 
improvement  has  been  due  to  the  fact  that  the  new  seed  came  from 
a  distance,  when  in  most  cases  a  similar  improvement  might  have 
been  made  by  vigorous  use  of  the  fanning  mill  on  seed  grown  close 
at  hand.  But  the  man  who  grows  wheat  badly  is  the  man  who 
thinks  incorrectly,  and  who  proceeds  to  publish  abroad  without 
qualification  that  change  of  seed  is  necessary  to  successful  wheat 
growing.  The  same  kind  of  man  would  no  doubt  insist  that  "wheat 
would  turn  to  cheat,  for  he  has  seen  it  do  so  on  his  own  farm." 
The  same  kind  of  men  will  continue  to  enhance,  the  profits  of  un- 
scrupulous dealers  who  advertise  in  unreasonable  terms  and  make 
no  serious  pretense  to  carry  out  their  claims. 

If  then  it  appears  that  the  Russian  wheats  are  best  for  the  north- 
ern part  of  Illinois  and  that  Fulcaster  and  Harvest  King  are  best 
for  southern  Illinois,  where  shall  seed  be  purchased?  In  order  to 
give  a  definite  answer,  and  give  reasons  later,  we  will  say.:  Buy  it 
in  Illinois  if  possible  and  preferably  in  your  own  community.  By 
so  doing  one  is  more  likely  to  get  the  kind  of  wheat  he  asks  for, 
avoiding  at  the  same  time  the  expense  of  a  long  shipment.  These 
are  good  reasons  why  practical  farmers  may  well  secure  seed  wheat 


80  BULLETIN  No.  121.  [January, 

in  their  own  community,  especially  when  evidence  is  obtainable 
from  this  and  other  experiment  stations  to  show  that  home-grown 
seed  will  generally  yield  as  high  or  higher  than  foreign-grown  seed. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  sometimes  seedsmen  are  over  enthusi- 
astic in  writing  advertisements.  Where  such  is  the  case  buyers 
must  suffer  and  also  the  business  of  careful  seeedsmen.  One  ad- 
vertisement is  quoted : 

"CHANGE  YOUR  SEED  WHEAT/' 

"It  is  now  a  conceded  fact,  known  by  every  practical,  up-to-date  wheat- 
growing  farmer,  verified  by  every  experiment  station  in  the  country,  that  wheat 
grown  from  the  same  seed,  year  after  year,  in  the  same  locality,  climate,  and 
soil,  deteriorates — declines  and  finally  runs  out.  One  of  the  surest  methods  of 
counteracting  deterioration  is  by  frequent  changes  and  importations  of  new 
seed  from  regions  and  localities  where  the  climate  and  other  environment  give 
strength,  vigor,  and  vitality,  under  such  a  change." 

So  far  as  such  a  statement  may  lead  a  wheat  grower  to  make  a 
very  uncertain  change  of  seed  wheat,  it  is  harmful,  and  not  likely 
to  do  permanent  good  for  any  one  concerned.  It  reads  as  if  the 
writer  were  unacquainted  with  the  facts  and  in  order  that  Illinois 
wheat  growers  may  be  correctly  informed  some  data  are  cited  from 
this  and  other  stations  relative  to  the  changing  of  seed  wheat. 

When  the  tests  were  begun  at  Cutler  (Table  3),  in  1902,  three 
strains  of  Harvest  King  were  secured,  one  of  which  had  been  grown 
for  some  time  in  the  locality  of  Cutler,  one  from  Indiana,  and  one 
from  Michigan.  During  the  three  years,  1902-1904,  while  all  these 
strains  were  produced  in  the  same  series  of  tests  the  home-grown 
Harvest  King  outyielded  in  all  instances  either  of  the  foreign 
strains. 

After  many  years  of  testing  variety  wheats  in  Indiana,  Profes- 
sor W.  C.  Latta,  concludes  in  Bulletin  72  of  Indiana  Experiment 
Station  that  "Standard  varieties  of  wheat  have  maintained  their 
yield  and  quality  for  fifteen  years  on  the  same  soil;"  and  further, 
"Most  of  the  new  varieties  have  failed  as  a  rule  to  do  as  well  as 
standard  varieties  which  have  long  been  grown  here." 

Further,  in  Indiana  Bulletin  No.  41,  we  find  a  trial  reported  as 
follows :  "Changing  seed  wheat  from  the  soil  of  the  Station  farm 
to  other  parts  of  the  state  for  one  year  and  then  back  again  to  the 
Station  had  no  appreciable  effect  upon  the  yield  or  weight  of  grain." 

The  Maryland  Experiment  Station  exchanged  several  well 
known  varieties  of  seed  with  the  Kansas  Experiment  Station. 
These  two  strains  of  seed  were  sown  side  by  side  in  six  double  plots. 
The  yields  did  not  show  differences  depending  upon  source  of  seed. 
The  conclusion  given  in  Maryland  Bulletin  No.  14  states:  "The 
result  of  the  year's  work  indicates  that  there  is  no  benefit  to  be  de- 
rived from  obtaining  seed  wheat  from  a  distant  locality  in  the  same 
latitude." 


1908.]  .    VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT.  81 

Professor  H.  L.  Bolley,  of  the  North  Dakota  Experiment  Sta- 
tion, after  a  careful  original  study  and  after  citing  many  references, 
concludes :  "Different  samples  of  seed  of  the  same  variety  which 
were  grown  upon  different  soils,  under  like  climatic  conditions,  will 
produce  a  like  crop  when  seeded  under  sameness  of  conditions. 

It  is  not  demonstrated  that  any  advantage  is  gained  by  the 

use  of  seed  previously  grown  under  different  climatic  conditions 
than  those  under  which  it  is  to  be  used ......  Failure  often  results 

from  injudicious  seed  exchange."  North  Dakota  Report  for  1900 
shows  that  home-grown  wheat  yielded  2.5  bushels  per  acre  more 
than  the  same  varieties  which  had  been  grown  at  the  Minnesota 
Station  for  from  one  to  nine  years. 

The  Nebraska  Experiment  Station  Bulletin  No.  72  reports  a 
trial  of  representative  samples  of  Turkey  Red  wheat  (the  most 
prolific  winter  variety  in  Nebraska)  from  four  sources,  namely, 
Kansas,  Nebraska,  Ohio,  and  Iowa.  The  Kansas  seed  yielded  two 
bushels  more  per  acre  than  the  home-grown  seed,  but  the  Ohio  and 
Iowa  samples  yielded  less  by  3.3  bushels  and  5.3  bushels  per  acre, 
respectively. 

There  seems  to  be  no  adequate  evidence  to  show  that  the  prac- 
tical wheat  grower  can  hope  for  any  gain  from  changing  seed  wheat, 
merely  for  the  sake  of  changing.  There  is  more  likelihood  of  loss 
by  a  change  than  of  making  any  practical  gain.  If  there  be  any 
foreign  variety  as  was  Turkey  Red,  originally  from  the  Crimea, 
that  will  give  increased  yields  of  wheat  over  established  varieties, 
the  experiment  stations  should  find  it  by  many  series  of  tests.  It 
is  evident  that  few  practical  farmers  can  undertake  such  work  with 
hope  of  definite  result,  when  we  reflect  that  as  many  as  one  thou- 
sand rather  distinct  varieties  of  wheat  have  been  tried  by  the  United 
States  Department  of  Agriculture  and  the  several  experiment  sta- 
tions since  1895. 

It  should  be  clearly  understood  that  what  has  been  said  and 
quoted  does  not  mean  that  one  should  never  buy  seed  wheat,  and 
especially  there  is  no  wish  to  reflect  upon  reputable  seed  firms. 
The  handling  of  seed  for  a  profit  is  not  only  an  honorable  business, 
but  it  is  one  that  the  best  thought  of  any  man  may  dignify.  A  case 
in  point  might  be  the  well  known  work  of  the  Estate  of  Vilmorin 
in  France.  There  are  corn  breeders  in  the  corn  belt  of  Illinois  who 
with  infinite  patience  and  much  expense  are  eliminating  poor  strains 
and  keeping  good  ones,  so  that  the  general  average  of  production 
may  increase.  Such  receive  all  commendation  which  lies  in  our 
power  to  give. 


82  BULLETIN  No.  121.  [January, 

There  is  a  further  legitimate  line  of  the  seed  business  separate 
from  plant  breeding.  That  is  the  business  engaged  in  by  those  who 
purchase  seed  from  reliable  sources,  and  by  thorough  processes 
which  the  ordinary  farmer  cannot  employ,  on  account  of  the  ex- 
pense involved,  remove  all  weed  seeds  and  inert  matter,  and  sepa- 
rate out  imperfect  seed  and  resell  the  cleaned  seed  at  a  legitimate 
profit. 

The  farmers  of  Illinois  who  buy  seed  wheat  under  a  statement 
that  it  is  adapted  to  their  conditions  must  have  some  assurance  that 
the  seller  not  only  has  good  intentions,  but  also  a  knowledge  of  his 
business.  When  farmers  have  such  confidence  they  will  buy  more 
seed  wheat  than  heretofore.  They  will  buy  for  the  reason  that  few 
farmers  have  time  and  inclination  to  produce  the  very  best  strains 
of  seed  wheat  on  their  own  farms,  finding  it  cheaper  to  purchase 
from  reputable  plant  breeders,  and  dealers. 

WINTER  OR  SPRING  VARIETIES 

In  former  years  a  considerable  acreage  of  spring  wheat  was 
sown  in  our  state.  It  is  generally  accepted  that  when  winter  va- 
rieties of  grain  can  be  found  that  will  withstand  the  extremes  of 
temperature  they  are  more  profitable.  They  not  only  yield  more, 
but  are  more  nearly  free  from  disease  and  insect  injury.  Four  of 
the  plots  in  the  trial  at  DeKalb  this  season  were  spring  varieties. 
The  ground  was  all  prepared  for  sowing  at  the  same  time  and  in 
the  same  manner,  but  in  the  case  of  the  spring  varieties  sowing  was 
delayed  till  spring.  The  names  of  the  spring  varieties  (Table  3) 
were  Red  Fife,  Minnesota  No.  163,  Minnesota  169,  and  Kubanka. 
The  average  yield  of  these  four  plots  of  spring  wheat  was  15.6 
bushels  per  acre.  The  average  yield  of  all  winter  varieties  in  the 
test  was  21.5  bushels  per  acre;  It  is  possible  that  further  trials  will 
give  higher  yields  for  spring  wheat  in  Illinois,  but  it  is  not  likely 
that  it  will  supplant  the  winter  varieties.  The  areas  of  winter  wheat 
sown  in  Iowa  and  Nebraska  have  increased  largely  during  recent 
years.  This  would  indicate  that  growing  winter  wheat  is  likely  to 
be  continued  in  Illinois. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  VARIETIES 

A  prood  deal  of  confusion  exists  relative  to  the  names  of  the 
varieties  of  wheat.  Sometimes  two  varieties  are  given  the  same 
name,  although  more  often  one  variety  bears  several  different 
names.  It  is  not  practicable  for  all  wheat  growers  to  analyze  botan- 
ically  the  wheat  they  grow.  It  is  suggested,  however,  that  they  be 
ready  to  furnish  a  description  of  any  variety  they  grow  according  to 


1908.] 


VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT. 


83 


the  following  outline,  adapted  from  "The  Cereals  in  America"  by 
Professor  Thomas  F.  Hunt.  This  classifies  all  wheats  into  eight 
groups,  according  to  three  characteristics.  It  does  not  prevent  a 
much  more  minute  description  when  that  is  found  desirable. 


Wheat 


Bearded 


Beardless, 


Glumes*  white. . . 


Glumes  bronze. 


Glumes  white. . 


Glumes  bronze . 


[I 


1.  Grain  white 
Grain  red 

3.  Grain  white 

4.  Grain  red 

5.  Grain  white 

6.  Grain  red 

7.  Grain  white 

8.  Grain  red 


In  the  following  table  the  more  important  varieties  discussed 
in  this  bulletin  are  classified  according  to  the  above  outline. 

TABLE  7.— CLASSIFICATION  OF  VARIETIES  INTO  GROUPS 


Name  of  variety. 

Bearded 
or 
beardless. 

Glumes, 
white  or 
bronze. 

Grain, 
red  or 
white. 

Rudy  

Bearded 

White 

Red 

Malakoff  

Bearded 

White 

Red 

Turkey  R  ed  

*  Bearded 

White 

Red 

Indiana  Swamp   

Bearded 

White 

Red 

Fulcaster  

Bearded 

White 

Red 

Kharkov  

Bearded 

White 

Red 

Hungarian  

Bearded 

White 

Red 

Pesterboden  

Bearded 

White 

Red 

Jones  lyongberry  

Bearded 

White 

White 

Bearded 

Bronze 

Red 

Bearded 

Bronze 

White 

K.  B.  No.  2  

Beardless 

White 

Red 

Fultz  

Beardless 

White 

Red 

Beardless  i 

White 

Red 

Beardless 

White 

White 

Harvest  King  

Beardless 

Bronze 

Red 

Red  Fultz  

Beardless 

Bronze 

Red 

Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  

Beardless 

Bronze 

White 

If  all  wheat  raisers  will  acquaint  themselves  with  the  botanical 
characters  of  their  varieties  so  far  as  may  be  possible  and  keep  some 
record  of  them,  it  will  be  much  easier  not  only  to  identify  varieties 
by  correspondence,  but  much  confusion,  which  occasionally  results 
from  ignorance  and  otherwise,  may  be- avoided. 

In  the  classification  of  varieties  above,  the  terms  red  and  white 
applied  to  grain  are  made  to  conform  as  nearly  as  possible  to  the 

*The  term  glume  means  the  outer  covering  of  the  wheat  grain.  In  popular  language  it 
may  be  read,  chaff. 


84  BULLETIN  No.  121.  [January, 

market  grade  of  the  same  grain.  The  color  of  wheat  grains  shades 
from  deep  amber  to  nearly  white,  so  it  is  evident  that  the  division 
between  white  and  red  grain  is  not  sharp. 

Plant  breeders  differ  somewhat  regarding  the  importance  of 
botanical  purity  of  varieties  of  wheat.  For  present  purposes  it  is 
certainly  obvious  that  when  a  purchaser  makes  a  mail  order  for  a 
given  variety  of  seed  wheat  he  should  be  able  to  determine  that  he 
gets  that  which  he  orders  and  not  something  entirely  different. 
The  illustrations  of  typical  wheat  heads  on  the  following  pages  are 
not  intended  for  studies  in  variation,  but.  to  help  impress  the  gen- 
eral characters  of  the  most  prominent  varieties  for  northern  and 
southern  Illinois. 

Moreover  it  is  thought  that  if  wheat  growers  can  be  made  more 
familiar  with  the  history  and  characteristics  of  the  varieties  they 
handle,  it  will  increase  interest  in  their  work,  and  with  increased  in- 
terest will  come  increased  efficiency. 

RUSSIAN  VARIETIES 
TURKEY  RED 

The  above  name  would  imply  that  the  variety  of  wheat  so  called 
might  have  originated  in  Turkey  ;  very  frequently  the  name  is 
given  as  Turkish  Red.  So  far  as  is  known,  such  was  not  the  origin 
and  the  name  Turkey  Red  is  in  reality  a  misnomer.  It  would  be 
more  accurate  to  call  it  Crimean  wheat  for  it  originally  came  from 
that  part  of  southern  Russia.  It  was  introduced  into  Kansas  by 
the  Mennonites  about  thirty-five  years  ago.  A  number  of  later  im- 
portations have  been  made  from  Russia.  It  is  a  very  widely  grown 
variety.  If  the  variety  is  objectionable  in  any  way  it  is  in  two 
respects,  (  i  )  that  the  straw  is  not  so  strong  as  that  of  some  other 
varieties,  and  (2)  the-  awns  make  it  exceedingly  unpleasant  to 
handle.  This  station  nevertheless  feels  justified  in  recommending 
the  variety,  inasmuch  as  it  has  been  raised  at  the  Urbana  field  seven 
successive  years  without  any  serious  effect  of  lodging  at  any  time. 
It  would  seem  that  as  time  goes  on  the  strength  of  straw  of  this 
valuable  variety  might  be  improved  by  breeding. 


The  Illinois  Experiment  Station  began  to  test  the  variety  of 
wheat  named  as  above  in  1904.  The  first  seed  was  furnished  to 
the  Station  by  the  Ratekin  Seed  Company  of  Iowa.  The  similarity 
between  it  and  the  common  Turkey  Red  has  always  been  remark- 


VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT. 

able.  The  writers  are  unable  to  find  any  botanical  difference  be- 
tween the  two,  and  have  begun  to  consider  them  identical.  It  is 
easily  possible  that  they  may  have  come  from  Russia  in  different 
importations.  In  fact  this  would  seem  a  plausible  explanation  judg- 
ing from  the  following  statement  given  by  J.  W.  Ratekin.  "With 
regard  to  the  New  Malakoff  wheat,  would  say  we  imported  35 
bushels  of  it  from  Russia  six  years  ago.  It  came  from  a  point  near 
trie  Black  Sea.  I  cannot  now  tell  you  the  Russian  name  of  the 
town  when  translated  into  English  —  it  was  Malakoff  —  thus  the 
name." 

"We  have  grown  Turkey  or  Turkish  Red  wheat  for  the  past  ten 
years  —  I  think  it  was  originally  the  same  wheat  as  our  Malakoff." 

KHARKOV 

This  is  another  of  the  Russian  wheats,  reported  by  Professor 
M.  A.  Carleton  as  "received  in  1901  through  Dr.  A.  Boenicke,  Pres- 
ident of  the  Kharkov  Agricultural  Society,  Kharkov,  Russia.  It 
is  described  as  "a  bearded,  hard,  red,  winter  wheat,  similar  to  Turk- 
ish or  Crimean,  but  coming  from  a  region  much  farther  north  and 
therefore  extremely  hardy."  This  is  the  variety  that  gave  the  high- 
est yield  at  the  DeKalb  field  in  1907. 


"This  wheat  was  sent  to  the  United  States  Department  of  Agri- 
culture from  Russia  in  1901  by  Hon.  W.  R.  Martin,  United  States 
Consular  agent.  It  is  a  hard,  red,  Russian  wheat.  It  is  said  to 
come  from  the  northern  portion  of  the  Staveopol  Government,  a 
region  of  great  extremes  of  temperature  and  moisture."  Botani- 
cally  it  is  very  similar  to  Turkey  Red. 

PADI 

This  appears  to  be  a  wheat  that  was  introduced  from  Russia  by 
E.  A.  Bessey  in  1902.  It  does  not  resemble  closely  other  Russian 
wheats  grown  at  this  experiment  station,  in  that  it  is  smooth  in- 
stead of  awned  (bearded).  It  takes  its  name  "Padi"  from  the 
place  in  Russia  from  whence  it  was  sent  to  America,  but  is  said  by 
Bessey  (Bureau  Plant  Industry  Bulletin  No.  66)  to  have  originated 
from  a  Hungarian  wheat.  As  stated  below,  however,  ordinary 
"Hungarian"  wheats  are  also  heavily  bearded,  like  the  Russian 
wheats. 


86 


BULLETIN  No.  121. 


[January, 


PLATE  1. — TYPICAL  HEADS  OF  TURKEY  RED.  THIS  TYPE  OF  WHEAT 
GAVE  THE  HIGHEST  AVERAGE  YIELD  AMONG  THE  VARIETIES  TESTED  AT 
URBANA. 


1908.] 


VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT. 


87 


PLATE  2. — MALAKOFB'.    APPARENTLY  THE  SAME  WHEAT  A.S«TTJRKEY  RED. 


88  BULLETIN  No.  121.  [January, 

HUNGARIAN  VARIETIES 

There  are  several  so-called  varieties  that  bear  the  name  "Hun- 
garian," having  been  brought  from  Hungary.  Like  the  Russian 
varieties  they  are  heavily  bearded,  but  differ  from  them,  generally, 
in  having  whiter  glumes  and  whiter,  softer  grain. 

PESTERBODEN 

This  variety  is  one  of  a  large  number,  introduced  from  Europe 
by  the  Bureau  of  Plant  Industry  of  the  United  States  Department 
of  Agriculture.  Professor  M.  A.  Carleton  writes  that  it  was  re- 
ceived September  27,  1900. 

AMERICAN  VARIETIES 
DAWSON'S  GOLDEN  CHAEE 

For  the  origin  and  history  of  Dawson's  Golden  Chaff,  the  writ- 
ers are  indebted  to  Professor  C.  A.  Zavitz,  Ontario  Agricultural 
College.  We  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  directly  from  a  letter  by 
Professor  Zavitz  to  the  writers. 

"The  Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  variety  of  winter  wheat  was 
started  evidently  from  a  sport.  Mr.  Robert  Dawson  of  Paris,  Out., 
had  a  field  of  the  White  Clawson  wheat  in  1881.  The  crop  was 
very  badly  lodged.  In  walking  over  this  field,  Mr.  Dawson  found 
one  plant  which  was  standing  quite  well  and  evidently  possessed 
much  stiffer  straw  than  the  surrounding  plants.  This  plant  was  of 
a  different  type  from  the  old  White  Clawson  variety.  He  saved  the 
seed  and  sowed  it  in  the  spring  of  the  following  year.  The  variety 
became  promising  and  a  sample  was  secured  at  our  Agricultural 
College,  Guelph,  and  grown  with  other  varieties.  Amongst  all  the 
varieties  grown,  the  crop  proved  to  be  the  most  attractive,  possessed 
the  stiffest  straw,  and  gave  the  largest  yield  of  grain  per  acre.  It 
was  named  the  Dawson's  Golden  Chaff  in  honor  of  Mr.  Dawson 
who  started  the  variety  from  one  plant.  After  it  was  carefully 
tested  at  our  College  for  a  few  years  it  was  distributed  throughout 
the  Province  in  connection  with  our  co-operative  experimental 
work.  As  this  variety  gave  good  results  on  the  various  farms  on 
which  it  was  tested,  its  cultivation  increased  throughout  the  Pro- 
vince. Some  seed  was  sent  to  Michigan,  New  York,  and  other 
states  and  it  is  now  grown  more  or  less  in  a  number  of  the  north- 
eastern states.  The  grain  is  not  as  hard  as  some  of  the  other  varie- 
ties, and  we  are  endeavoring  to  increase  the  quality  of  the  grain 


1908.] 


VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT. 


89 


PLATE  3.—  DAWSON'S  GOLDEN  CHAFF.  THE  WHEAT  THAT  GAVE  THE 
SECOND  HIGHEST  AVERAGE  YIELD  ON  THE  URBANA  FIELD. 

and  at  the  same  time  to  retain  the  excellent  straw  and  the  high 
yielding  quality  through  systematic  selection  and  through  cross- 
fertilization.  The  results  so  far  are  very  encouraging." 

FUL.CASTER 

The  wheat  known  as  Fulcaster  is  pronounced  one  of  the  best 
known  of  varieties  that  have  been  originated  in  this  country  by 
crossing.  S.  M.  Schindel,  of  Maryland,  produced  it  in  1886,  by 
crossing  Fultz  and  Lancaster,  hence,  the  name.  So  far  as  is  known 
to  this  Station  it  is  the  highest  yielding  variety  for  the  common 
prairie  soil  of  Southern  Illinois. 


90  BULLETIN  No.  121.  [January, 

RUDY 

Rudy  is  a  good  example  of  a  variety  that  has  been  established 
through  selection.  The  first  distinct  stool  of  this  wheat  was  taken 
from  a  large  field  by  Mr.  M.  Rudy,  of  Ohio,  in  1871. 

WHEEDLING 

This  variety  was  originated  about  eighteen  years  ago  by  Louis 
Wheedling,  of  Indiana.  Mr.  Wheedling,  while  walking  in  his 
wheat  field,  noticed  some  heads  slightly  different  from  the  sur- 
rounding ones.  These  he  selected  and  from  them  came  the  variety 
that  bears  his  name.  It  is  a  wheat  of  exceedingly  upright  growth 
and  stiff  straw.  It  rarely  lodges. 

Fui/rz 

Perhaps  the  most  widely  known  and  most  commonly  grown 
smooth  winter  wheat  in  the  United  States  is  Fultz.  It  is  among  the 
oldest  of  distinct  varieties,  having  been  first  selected  in  1862  by 
Abraham  Fultz,  of  Pennsylvania.  It  is  said  that  he  took  the  first 
heads  of  the  variety  from  Lancaster,  the  latter  variety  being 
bearded.  The  original,  heads  of  Fultz  may  have  resulted  from  a 
variation  or  a  mixture.  At  any  rate,  they  have  been  since  selected 
and  multiplied  until  Fultz  wheat  has  become  one  of  the  standards. 

"K.-B."  No.  2 

The  seed  of  the  above  named  variety  first  purchased  by  the  Ex- 
periment Station  came  at  a  cost  of  Ten  Dollars  per  bushel.  It  is 
indeed  a  beautiful  wheat  to  look  at,  though  it  has  not  yet  given  so 
high  yields  as  several  other  varieties.  The  Knight  and  Bostwick 
Seed  Company,  from  whom  it  came,  have  the  following  to  say : 

"During-  the  summer  of  1898  we  discovered  growing  in  our  field  of  Long 

Berry  Clawson a  single  head  of  wheat  that  showed  qualities  distinctly 

superior  to  its  celebrated  parent." We  sowed  it  in  our  trial  grounds. . . . 

called  it  our  Celebrated  K.  B.  No.  2." 

"There  were  49  grains  of  wheat  in  this  head.  The  next  summer  we  had 
two  ounces  of  fine  plump  wheat,  ratio  of  seed  to  crop,  113.  That  summer, 
1899,  we  sowed  the  two  ounces  in  a  trial  field,  and  in  1900  harvested  9% 
pounds  of  seed The  next  summer  it  was  badly  hurt  by  the  fly,and  par- 
tially lost  through  floods but  we  harvested  273  pounds  in  1902." 

Thus  at  different  times  and  by  different  means,  hybridization 
and  selection,  or  both,  have  varieties  of  wheat  been  established. 
Some  have  been  introduced  from  afar,  some  from  places  close  at 
hand. 


VARIETY  TESTS  OF  WHEAT. 


91 


PLATE  4. — FULCASTER.    THE  HIGHEST  YIELDING  VARIETY  TESTED  ON  THE 
CUTLER  FIELD. 


92 


BULLETIN  No.  121. 


[January,  1908. 


PLATE  5.— HARVEST  KING.    HOME-GROWN  SEED  OF  THIS  VARIETY  GAVE 
THE  SECOND  HIGHEST  AVERAGE  YIELD  PER  ACRE  AT  THE  CUTLER  FIELD. 


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